Minnesota Twins agree to terms with veteran slugger Kendrys Morales

When Kendrys Morales was at his best, tearing up the American League West, it was Kurt Suzuki's job to figure out how to slow him down.

That was no easy task, Suzuki said Saturday amid reports the veteran slugger had agreed to a one-year, $12-million prorated contract with the Twins. That comes to $7.54 million for the remaining 16 weeks of the regular season, pending a physical exam.

"You put a force like that in the middle of any lineup, you're going to be pretty happy," said Suzuki, now the Twins catcher after playing for Oakland for the bulk of 2007-13. "Besides the fact he's got pop, he's a complete hitter."

According to a person with direct knowledge, the Twins indeed have a deal in place with the switch-hitting Morales and his agent, Scott Boras. That deal would likely bring the Cuban defector straight to the majors, skipping a minor league rehab assignment, despite the fact that he hasn't played since the end of last season.

Passing the physical exam is no given for Morales, who turns 31 on June 20 and missed nearly two full seasons in 2010-11 following a freak knee injury suffered during a walk-off home-run celebration. Off to a fast start when he was injured May 29, 2010, Morales was coming off a 34-homer season with 104 runs batted in that saw him finish fifth to Joe Mauer in the American League most valuable player voting.

"We've always liked the guy," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We know he can hit. He's always been able to hit. A run producer. We all know he's out there, and we all know everybody is trying to talk to him. Hopefully he comes our way. That would be wonderful."

Signing Morales no longer requires the Twins to forfeit a second-round draft pick now that the 2014 amateur draft is complete. Morales had turned down a $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Seattle Mariners in November.

Mostly a designated hitter at this stage of his career, Morales has averaged 26.3 homers over his past three full seasons. In 2012-13, he made a combined 59 starts at first base.

Suzuki just shook his head when asked how Oakland pitchers tried to get him out.

"Playing against him in those years, he was going for MVPs," Suzuki said. "The year he got hurt, he was right up there. He not only has power, he uses the whole field. He's a switch (hitter), so it makes it tough for matching up against him. He's good from both sides of the plate."

Morales has a career .291 batting average with runners in scoring position, including a combined on-base/slugging percentage of .871 in clutch spots. The Twins entered Saturday with a RISP average of .224, second-worst in the league and 25th in the majors.

"He's a smart hitter," Suzuki said. "He's a veteran guy. He's been around the game for a long time. He knows situations when he can try to hit a homer and when not. He's just got to come in a situation where he's just trying to drive in a run. That's why he gets such RBI totals. That's why he makes the big bucks, right?"

Suzuki also praised the way Morales carries himself.

"Just playing against him, he seems like a real quiet, real nice guy," Suzuki said. "All the guys that have played with him and that know him say he's a great guy. Just playing against him, he's not flashy. He just goes out there and does his job. I mean, he just wears you out."

Morales had been rumored as a potential target of the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, New York Yankees and most recently the Texas Rangers, who lost slugging first baseman Prince Fielder for the season to neck surgery. However, the Twins swooped in and agreed to terms with Morales amid a surprising 29-31 start.

Morales' last meaningful game was more than eight months ago. Unlike shortstop Stephen Drew, who re-signed with Boston on May 20 after a similar period in professional limbo, Morales didn't have three postseason rounds to limit the amount of rust he must scrape off.